Friday, June 27, 2008

Workin' the Plan of Stickin' it to the Man

If only we knew who The Man was. At some point I'll explain how we got to this point. It was a process. I didn't come out of the womb being a tree hugging, organic chicken loving, back to nature freak. Nope. I spent a large portion of my life "living the American dream" accumulating all that I could. I was busy. Very busy and convenience was all that mattered.

But yesterday I made my own laundry soap and tonight the engineer installed our new "solar dryer" or plain old clothesline if you live anywhere outside of California. Why? It's just one small way to stop supporting the petroleum cartel. Well, that and the homemade laundry soap is super cheap to make, smells great and uses natural products. And did I mention it was cheap?

I was skeptical at first. Especially given that I'm allergic to the earth, sun and the sky. Particularly perfumes. But with this recipe you don't have to add any smelly stuff if you don't want to. And really you don't have to, the soap smells wonderful all on it's own. But it doesn't over scent your clothing either. Anyone who's ever lived with a teenage boy knows that clothing that doesn't stink one way or the other is a wonderful thing.

There are a few different recipes. I tried the cheapest one first at $1.79 per batch or 48 loads. No that's not a typo. And all the ingredients can be found in the laundry isle of your local grocery store.

Grate soap and put in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until soap melts. Add washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into bucket. Add soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. Use ½ cup per load. This recipe = 64 loads

Favorite Quotes

"Nowadays, people are so jeezled up. If they took some chamomile tea and spent more time rocking on the porch in the evening listening to the liquid song of the hermit thrush, they might enjoy life more."

- Tasha Tudor

"I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost-work, but the solidest thing we know."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."

- Albert Einstein

"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has got to go."